Thursday, 11 October 2012

Tomáš
Vandas, head of the DSSS and recent self-proclaimed presidential
candidate, was formerly head of the Workers Party, which was dissolved
in 2010 for neo-Nazi associations.

Some
70 people took part in a protest march against socially "unadaptable"
citizens passing by dormitories inhabited mainly by members of the Roma
minority in Ústí nad Labem Oct. 6. The march was led by the DSSS
(Workers Party of Social Justice), an extra-parliamentary rightist
extremist party.

The DSSS is
expected to succeed in the Ústí region in the Oct. 12-13 regional
elections, according to a STEM/MARK a SC&C survey conducted for
Czech Television. The poll projects DSSS will receive 3 percent to 4
percent of votes.

In one-third of the constituency, voters will also choose their representatives for the Senate.

Experts find the new trend
alarming but not surprising, as the Ústí region is currently a hub for
racial problems. Anti-Roma marches are common in the area, especially
around Šluknov, where hundreds of anti-riot police had to intervene last
year. Flags and banners of the DSSS have flown at practically every
incident in the area.

According
to extremism expert Miroslav Mareš from Masaryk University in Brno, the
Workers Party's success is based on obvious factors. "Generally
speaking, these parties tend to find constituency in socially
disadvantaged regions. They mostly profit from the Roma question," he
says.

Despite the fact that
the Ústí region in north Bohemia registered the biggest socioeconomic
shift from all Czech regions in the past four years, according to the
results of an annual survey by MasterCard, the traditional industrial
and coal-mining region is still haunted by sky-high unemployment, crime
and the lack of a university-educated work force.

In
an area where left-wing parties and the Communists, in particular, have
always found a staunch voter base, DSSS leader Tomáš Vandas has been
attempting to slice off a piece for his party. The Prague native and
recent self-proclaimed candidate for the national presidency tirelessly
travels across the Ústí region to gain support among disgruntled
residents, capitalizing on the rich organizational base of far-right
supporters.

"The typical DSSS voter is a young, underpaid or unemployed male, usually with basic education," Mareš says.

The
DSSS's ideological roots are a successor of Vandas' previous party, the
Workers Party, which was dissolved in 2010 by the Supreme
Administrative Court after being found to present a threat to the
democratic system. Its leaders were publicly associated with neo-Nazi
groups and other ultra-right extremists.

"Their
current strategy consists of rejecting profane individuals and aiming
at broader social topics. They try very hard to gain credibility," Mareš
says. "Paradoxically enough, the best scenario for the DSSS would be if
the Communists and Social Democrats won the election and created a
coalition in the region. Then the right-wing party could determine its
politics against theirs."

Such
a scenario could well become a reality in the Ústí region after the
weekend vote. According to a STEM/MARK and SC&C survey conducted
Sept. 7, some 22 percent of eligible voters would choose the Communist
Party of Bohemia and Moravia (KSČM), followed by the Social Democrats
(ČSSD) with 20.5 percent. Similar results are expected elsewhere in the
country, with the ČSSD taking further control in the regions.

When
Czechs last voted their representatives into regional councils in 2008,
the Social Democrats, bolstered by the KSČM, seized the largest number
of seats and left the Civic Democrats (ODS) unable to set rules for
coalition negotiations in all 13 regions. At 40.3 percent, the voter
turnout was unusually high.